Three Small Things To Improve Your Finances – Today!

We tend to start with lofty goals but can sometimes end up disappointed when we fall short. So instead of trying to do a total overhaul of your finances, let’s start small first.

If you have a 401K, good for you, now increase your contributions by just ONE percent. That’s all it takes but you’ll be pleasantly surprised that 1% can go a long way.

Decrease your spending in TWO categories. Maybe cut out that expensive treat at the grocery store. Only eat out once a week instead of twice. You’ll find out by the end of the year there’s extra money in your account towards savings or a vacation.

If you have credit card debt with an interest attached, make a THREE percent increase on debt payments. This deceases the interest and will pay off your debt much faster. Or the best advice – pay off your credit cards balances in full every month and think about how all that interest you were once paying is now available to you for something else.

Savings Are Good For You

I’m Detective Frank Money and I have a breaking news story for you…savings are good for you! It’s called discipline, will power or just good old fashion smarts that enough money will be there for you when you’re ready to retire. Hey, not just for retirement, how about saving up for a car or finally moving out of your parent’s house and having enough cash for a first, last and deposit to move into your own place.

Direct deposit can be your friend at your bank. Have your weekly salary deposited directly into your bank account and 10% of your gross take home pay deposited directly into a savings account or investment portfolio. That way you’re not tempted to skip on saving.

Best of all you’ll look so smart when you save, heck, look at me…on second thought…

You’re A Millionaire

I’m Frank Money – Your very effective money detective.

Did you know that YOU are a MILLIONAIRE!

No really, you are. And so is most everyone you know?

How you ask? Well I’ve cracked this case wide open and this Talkin’ Money video explains it!

Through your lifetime, you will most likely earn a million dollars, and probably much more! Here’s a chart showing the Median Lifetime Earnings by College Majors. Just look at the return of a high school degree, versus an Associate’s College Degree and All Majors – it’s pretty amazing!

There was more to the caper than I bargained for – How are you gonna manage your money? It takes responsibility, and, being financially literate!

Mind Blown

We’ve all heard and read a thousand times how we should save on a regular basis and the younger you start the more we’ll have when getting closer to retirement. But as sure as the sun rises there will always be something that happens in your life that will make it difficult for you to part with your money to put into savings. That’s why every paycheck you should have a set portion of your salary automatically deposited into your savings account.

I’ve done the detective work on this and the later you wait to start saving, even a year or two, could mean the difference of up to $200,000 or more! Remember compounding interest? Over time your money will make more money for you. Mind blown!

In fact, if you want to have what we financial literacy fans call ‘fun’ here’s a link to the government’s Securities and Exchange Commission’s handy, dandy Compounded Interest Calculator. GO ahead, plug some numbers in, step back, and get ready to be surprised!

https://www.investor.gov/tools/calculators/compound-interest-calculator

Good old Benjamin Franklin once said: “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” So it’s up to you to be a wise investor with your savings.

Savings Is Good For You!

I’m Frank Money, and I wanna help you investigate everything about money! For example, let’s investigate savings. It doesn’t take much detective work to understand that savings is good for you!

And here’s the good news for millennials – you are saving at a rate greater than any generation before you. Fidelity Investments found that 20 somethings are saving on average 7.5% of their income compared to 5.8% in 2013.

We’ve talked about retirement savings, and how important it is to start as soon as you can, along with the benefits of deferring taxes and saving on how much income tax you pay when you invest in a 401k, IRA, etc.

But what about non-retirement savings?

One strategy to employ is to set a goal of savings out of each pay check, and to make that ‘payment’ to you savings account, just like you pay your rent, phone and electric bill. Over time, you grow your savings account and let your money work for you.

What’s the amount you should save? well, it varies from person to person, but a good rule of thumb is to save 10-15% of your gross income (the amount you make BEFORE taxes are deducted) and use that for both your retirement accounts as well as non-retirement accounts.

It takes discipline, but getting used to a regular savings plan is something all millennials need to consider. It doesn’t take much detective work to understand  – SAVINGS IS GOOD FOR YOU!